Extension Office Hours

Normal office hours are :

Monday-Friday 8am to 5pm

Lunch Hours are:

Jennifer 12pm-1pm

Stephanie 1pm-2pm

However, since there is only 2 of us in the office,

there may be times that the office is closed. If

you need to stop by the office, we suggest

calling and making sure one of us will be in the

office. Thank you for your patience and

understanding.

State Fair results for virtual exhibition participants

Fair will be available September 12th.

Results will be available at :

www.kansas4-h.org/ksf_virtual_info/index.html

Upcoming 4-H Events

9/20 Record Book Clinic

Ambassador Meeting

9/28 Sewing for Service

Cloverbuds

4-H Council

10/4-10 National 4-H Week

10/7 Record Books Due

Ambassador App’s Due

Achievement Pin’s Due

10/10-11 48 Hours of 4-H

10/14 Record Books judged

10/18 Ambassador Meeting

10/25 Officer Training

11/8 Ambassador Interviews

11/21-22 Kansas Youth Leadearship

Forum—Virtual

11/22 Achievement Banquet

K - S t a t e R e s e a r c h a n d E x t e n s i o n

Extension Connection September 2020

Extension Bulletin Board

Schedule for clubs to decorate the

Extension bulletin board is as follows:

December Finney Flyers

January Beacon Boosters

February Wide Awake

March Kourageous Kids

April Sherlock Strivers

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Enrollment for the new 4-H year will begin October 1st. A few things to keep in mind when renewing on 4-HOnline:

Please look over information from last year and make any changes (ie. Address, phone, email, t-shirt size, etc.). We communicate thru email and/or social media so be sure your email address is correct.

Add or delete projects The Finney County 4-H Council has not determined how much, if any, of the 4-H enrollment

fee it will pay. We will keep you updated. You will receive an email when your enrollment has been approved. There is no enrollment fee for Cloverbuds and Volunteers.

If you know of someone that wants to join 4-H, they can sign up beginning October 1st at ks.4honline.com If you have any questions, please contact us at the Extension Office at 272-3670.

Page 3 Extension Connection

Now is a great time to get a head start on completing your Record

Books & Kansas Award Portfolios (KAP’s). Those documents are

posted online at the Finney County Extension webpage, then under

the 4-H Youth Development tab, under forms.

www.finney.ksu.edu/4-h/enrollment-forms.html

For completion of your record books, you must fill out

the Personal Page, Permanent Record, and write a 4-H

Story.

In order to be eligible for Achievement Pins and the 4-H

Foundation awards presented at the Achievement

Banquet in November, you are required to complete a

Kansas Award Portfolio for each project area you wish to

receive a pin in. These KAP’s are judged at the county

level, and 4-Her’s 14+ may be eligible for Area KAP

Judging.

Record Books will be due to the Extension Office on Friday,

October 7th. However, your clubs may assign an earlier deadline

and you will turn your Record Books into your leaders.

Need Help With Your Record Books?

Do you need help with your Record Books or KAP’s? Then mark your calendars to attend the Record Book

Training on Sunday, September 20th beginning at 2pm in the 4-H Building. We will go over what forms are

required to complete your record books, where to find those forms, how to fill out the forms and to answer

any questions you may have. Bring your record books.

Record Book Training

September 20, 2020

Club Seal Requirements & Achievement Pins

All forms required for Club Seal and Achievement Pins are

available at :

https://www.finney.k-state.edu/4-h/enrollment-forms.html.

Please note some forms have been revised, so please make

sure you use the form on our website.

All forms are due October 7th.

In order to meet the club seal

requirements for publishing club

reports, we will be publishing

them in the Extension

Connection. Your club is

encouraged to continue to submit

them to the Telegram and submit

them to the Extension Office via

email to steph66@ksu.edu.

Page 4 Extension Connection

Club Reports

The Beacon Boosters July 2020 meeting was held at the Deal Home. The club was excited to be back together after many months apart. The club celebrate all past birthdays and voted to host the 4-H Booth at the Annual Sidewalk Sale Downtown.

4-Hers were reminded to get enrolled for the 2020 Finney County Fair ASAP.

After the Business Meeting the club enjoyed pizza, a pool party and worked on the Beacon Booster Banner for the Finney County Fair.

The July 13th 2020 meeting of the Wide Awake 4-H Club was called to order at 7:06pm at Plymell Elementary by the 3rd vice president Brandon Springston. Roll call was what are your summer plans. Deann Gillen gave the Leaders Report. Project Talk by Brandon Springston. Meeting was adjourned at 7:30pm. Notes taken by Trell Baker Jaylee Speer Wide Awake 4-H Club Reporter The August meeting of the Wide Awake 4-H club was called to order in the 3I building after Church service on July 26, 2020. Attendance was taken and members signed thank you notes. A motion was passed to give Jennifer LaSalle and Stephanie Wildeman a gift basket to thank them for all their work. Leaders congratulated members for their hard work and reminded members that record books will be due so start working on them. The next meeting will be September 14th, 2020. Jaylee Speer Reporter Wide Awake 4-H Club Notes taken by Joanna Schmeeckle

Finney Flyers met July 5th. The meeting was called to order by Kierstyn Hartman. Eight members were present. Minutes of the June meeting were read. Aleah gave the treasurer’s report. Kourtney gave the reporters report. Addisyn gave a talk on her sewing project. Connie gave an update on the fair events for this year. Kourtney moved to adjourn the meeting. Next meeting will be after the fair. The Finney Flyers met Aug. 2nd at the 4-H building. Alya called the meeting to order at 4:07pm. Minutes were read and the financial report was given. There was no business discussed and no programs were given. Alya moved to adjourn the meeting. Next meeting is September 6th. Finney Flyers September meeting was called to order by acting president Kourtney Cole. Members answered roll call with their favorite sport. Members then repeated the flag salute and the 4H pledge. Minutes were read and approved. The treasurer’s report was presented by Kourtney.. Connie reminded members record books are due Oct. 7th as well as officer’s reports. Pin applications and forms for project awards are available at the Extension Office. Next meeting is October 4th.

Page 5 Extension Connection

October 10-11, 2020 - Join us this fall in seeing just how much we can give back to our communities! The

weekend at the end of National 4-H Week is the perfect opportunity to setup a service project. Invite your

friends, clubs, adult volunteers, local service organizations and past 4- H’ers too!

Go to www.Kansas4-H.org/484H to register and get more information.

A project of the Kansas 4-H Youth Leadership Council

Kansas Youth Leadership Forum-Virtual for 2020 What: Build your leadership skills and potential through workshops, con-sulting groups, inspirational speakers and more. In addition, the 2021 State 4-H Youth Leadership Council will be elected at KYLF.

When: November 21-22, 2020

Where: Your Device (computer, tablet or phone) connected to the internet

Who: Youth 14-18 years of age before January 1, 2021

Early Registration Deadline: October 15, 2020

Shutterbug events are photography workshops put on across the state by the Kansas State 4-H Photography Action Team. Workshops are typically scheduled as a morning session and concentrate on a variety aspects of composition. Examples of sessions in-clude: Portfolio, I have a camera-now what?, Panning, Close-ups, Aperture Settings & Kaleidoscopes/Reflections.

Name of Photography Event: Shutterbug at Hays

When: October 10, 2020

Where: K-State Research Center Farm Auditorium– 1232 240th Avenue Hays, Kansas 67601

Schedule: Registration 9-9:15, Opening session 9:15-9:45, Session 10-Noon

Registration Flyer and Form

Deadline: October 2, 2020

Contact for event: Christy Befort, clixbychristy@gbta.net, phone 785-635-4368

Page 6 Extension Connection

Sewing for Service We will have another session of Sewing for Service to work on blankets for the Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center. Join us on September 28th at 9:30am in the 4-H Building. RSVP with the Extension Office if you plan on attending or if you have questions.

Recipe of the Month Fiesta Salsa

Yield: about 4 pints (use pint size jars)

7 cups chopped, seeded, peeled, cored tomatoes 1/4 cup minced cilantro

2 cups chopped, seeded, peeled cucumbers 3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups chopped and seeded banana peppers 1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sliced green onions, white portion only 2 tablespoons lime juice

1/2 cup chopped, peeled, roasted Anaheim peppers

1/2 cup chopped jalapeno peppers

1 tablespoon minced fresh marjoram

1/2 cup cider vinegar or bottled lemon juice

Procedure:

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepot.

Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Ladle hot salsa into hot jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace.

Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed.

Wipe rims of jars with a damp clean paper towel.

Apply lids and rings fingertip-tight.

Process in boiling-water canner for 20 minutes

Turn off heat and remove canner lid.

Let jars cool 5 minutes.

Remove jars from canner; do not retighten bands. Cool completely, check seals, label and store.

Note: Use pint size jars when canning salsa

When cutting or seeding hot peppers, wear rubber gloves to prevent hands from being burned.

**Tested recipe from KSRE**

Page 7 Extension Connection

FACS

corner

The COVID-19 pandemic required us to spend more time at home, so many of us decided to embrace this opportunity and plant a garden. Many gardens popped up in new locations and now the gardens are producing. So now what do you do with all the fresh produce? Preserve it! BUT preserve it Safe. Since September is considered “Food Safety Month” and with the many questions I have received about Home Canning, I decided this newsletter would be dedicated to Home Canning Information. One of the biggest mistakes people make in home canning is the assumption that a sealed jar lid is the only goal - that as long as the jar is sealed, the food inside is safely preserved no matter how the food was handled or processed. That assumption can be wrong-maybe DEAD wrong. Just because the lid sealed, it doesn’t guarantee that it is safe. A jar lid seals when the oxygen is driven off with heat and a vacuum seal is formed. This creates the ideal environment for the growth of the deadly botulism bacteria which grows only in the ABSENCE of oxygen. The food must be heat-treated to temperatures hot enough and long enough during canning to kill botulism spores or otherwise the sealed jar may become a dangerous food safety hazard.

The only methods recommended for canning foods at home are boiling water bath canning for high-acid foods and pressure canning for low-acid foods. Following tested, research-based instructions from reliable, up-to-date resources is vital to ensure that the foods are processed properly for safety. Old-fashioned methods like open kettle canning or unusual techniques like canning in the oven, sun, dishwasher or using electric multi-cookers might set a seal, but without adequate heat processing there is no guarantee the food inside is safe.

Likewise, using untested canning information from online recipe-sharing sites or outdated books may be a recipe for disaster. It takes precise scientific testing to determine the right amount of time and heat needed for each food to reach adequate processing temperatures. The latest science-based canning guidelines also recommend adjusting processing time and/or pressure for altitude-usually more time and higher pressure settings for higher elevations. Kansas altitudes range from below 1,000 feet to just over 4,000 feet, so knowing your altitude is critical for making required adjustments. Finney County’s elevation is 2,864 feet. Make sure you read your recipe and look for adjustments needed to fit

Page 8 Extension Connection

our elevation. Not adjusting for altitude will lead to under-processed food, which can allow for growth of the botulism bacteria. Just because the lid sealed, does not guarantee the food is safe without proper processing for your altitude. Proper headspace is also important in preserving food safely. Leaving the specified amount of headspace in a jar will assure a vacuum seal. Too little headspace allows the food to expand and bubble out when air is forced out from under the lid during processing. The bubbling food may leave a deposit on the rim of the jar or the seal of the lid and prevent the jar from sealing. Too much headspace leaves excess air inside the jar, causing discoloration, seal failure and spoilage. Canning is an enjoyable kitchen activity, but it is one based more in science than in art. Tested canning recipes must be followed exactly for the product to be safe. Canning time is not a time for personal creativity! It is unsafe to make up or modify canning recipes by changing ingredients, processing times or even canning jar sizes. Salsa is a perfect example-did you know there are no reliable tested guidelines for canning salsa in quart jars? Salsa is a prime example of a canned product that people love to change to suit their family tastes or available ingredients. Don’t be tempted to tinker with a standard salsa canning recipe or use one from the internet or shared by a friend. Home-canned foods are a year-round treat. Canning can stretch the grocery budget while making use of fresh, local food. But, if canned foods are not handled properly, serious foodborne illness can turn a treat into tragedy. Use up-to-date canning procedures from reliable, research-based sources and follow instructions exactly for best results. K-State Research and Extension has some great resources and recipes on Food Preservation. Check out the following website for more great information. (https://www.rrc.k-state.edu/preservation/index.html) Best practice is to use recipes from reliable and reputable sources. So Easy to Preserve, Ball Blue Book and Ball Complete Book to Home Preserving are great recipe books for home canning. The Finney County Extension Office has these books and are available for check out. Enjoy your fresh produce and remember to Preserve It Safe.

Recommended headspace

Jams and Jellies: ¼ inch

Fruits, pickles, tomato products: 1/2 inch

Vegetables: 1 inch

Meats and poultry: at least 1 inch

Page 9 Extension Connection

If you have any questions, concerns, or topics that you would like me to address, please feel

free to contact me via e-mail at jlasalle@ksu.edu or call the Finney County Extension Office at

(620) 272-3670

Ask the

Agent

Extension office can test your pressure

dial gauge.

Can only test the following Brands

Presto

National

Magic Seal

Maid of Honor

Do you have questions about food?

Check out the Rapid Response

Center @

https://www.rrc.k-state.edu